Clarkson, Atelia, and Gilbert B. Cross. World Folktales: A Scribner Resource Collection. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1980. Includes bibliography of variants of each tale, plus information about finding and using folktale variants.

The principle series of authentic texts (given in the exact words of traditional tellers) is published by the University of Chicago Press (Folktales of the World). Each volume is edited by a folklorist from the culture involved. Titles include:

Folktales of Chile

Folktales of India

Folktales of China

Folktales of Ireland

Folktales of England

Folktales of Israel

Folktales of France

Folktales of Japan

Folktales of Germany

Folktales of Mexico

Folktales of Greece

Folktales of Norway

Folktales of Hungary

The principle series of rewritten folktale texts is published by Pantheon. Titles include:

African Folktales

Afro-American Folktales

American Indian Myths and Legends

British Folktales

Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies

Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales

Irish Folktales

Italian Folktales

Russian Fairy Tales

Swedish Folktales

Here are a few favorites not part of either series described above:

Chase, Richard. Jack Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1944.

Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. New York: Knopf. 1985.